Demi Lovato
Demetria Devonne "Demi" Lovato (born August 20, 1992) is an English-American/Irish-American/Mexican-American/Portuguese-American/Jewish-American singer-songwriter, musician and actress. She made her debut as a child actress in Barney & Friends. In 2008, she came to prominence as a starring cast member in the television film Camp Rock. She signed to Hollywood Records the same year, and released her debut studio album Don't Forget in September 2008. It has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2009, Lovato was commissioned for her own television series Sonny With a Chance. That year, her second album Here We Go Again became her first to debut to top the U.S. Billboard 200. After the release of additional television films and their soundtracks in 2010, Lovato's personal issues put her career on hiatus and ended Sonny with a Chance after its second season. Her third album, Unbroken (2011), addresses several of her difficulties. Its lead single, "Skyscraper", became Lovato's first top ten single as well as first platinum single in the US; its second single, "Give Your Heart a Break", was certified triple platinum. Lovato was a judge and mentor on the American version of The X Factor in 2012 and 2013. Her fourth album, DEMI (2013), had first-week sales of 110,000 copies (the best debut week of Lovato's recording career) and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. Its lead single, "Heart Attack", became her second top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked at No. 3 in the United Kingdom, becoming her highest charting single and first to break the top 10 in the UK. Lovato's fifth album, Confident (2015), debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. Lovato has received a number of accolades, including an MTV Video Music Award, thirteen Teen Choice Awards, five People's Choice Awards, two ALMA Awards and a Billboard Touring Award. In 2013, Maxim ranked her 26th on its Hot 100 list and Billboard ranked her second on its Social 50 Artists of the Year list. Outside the entertainment industry, Lovato is involved with several social and environmental causes. In May 2013, she was cited for her dedication as a mentor to teens and young adults with mental-health challenges at a National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day hosted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in Washington, D.C. She has also become an advocate for the LGBT community. In 2014, she was announced as the Grand Marshal for LA PRIDE week, and that same year she became the face for Human Rights Campaign's Americans for Marriage Equality Campaign. Artistry Influences Lovato has cited John Mayer, with whom she worked on her second album Here We Go Again, as one of her "biggest musical influences". Other musical influences include Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Aretha Franklin, Paramore, Gladys Knight, Billy Gilman, Billie Holiday, Whitney Houston, and Beyoncé Knowles. She said of Gillman: "We had the same voice range when I was young. I would practice to his songs all the time." She has also added that she likes black metal and metalcore music, calling symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir "one of her favorite live acts". On Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''in July 2009, Lovato stated that three of her favorite bands were metalcore/symphonic black metal band Abigail Williams, deathcore band Job for a Cowboy and southern metal band Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. She listed songs by Jon McLaughlin, Eminem, Sam Cooke, and the contemporary Christian music artists Stacie Orrico, MercyMe, BarlowGirl, and Bethany Dillon as her favorite songs, explaining they keep her feeling positive and remind her to stay strong. She said she is a fan of Britney Spears, calling her "the epitome of pop." Following the release of ''Unbroken, she commented that her musical styles have shifted towards hip-hop and R&B, adding that Rihanna is one of her favorite R&B artists. Additionally, she listed Bruce Springsteen as a musical role model. Vocal range Lovato possesses a mezzo-soprano vocal range and her vocals have been met with positive responses from music critics. Nick Levine of Digital Spy commented that her vocals on Don't Forget ''were "consistently impressive". Singer and producer Ryan Tedder who worked on ''Unbroken said that "Demi blew me out of the water vocally! I had no idea how good her voice is. She's one of the best singers I've ever worked with. Literally, that good... I mean, she's a Kelly Clarkson-level vocalist. And Kelly has a set of pipes." Becky Brain of Idolator wrote Lovato has a "killer voice and the A-list material to put it to good use". The Hollywood Reporter writer Sophie Schillaci stated she "has a voice that can silence even the harshest of critics. Something not often found in her peers." Category:People Category:Singers Category:Actresses